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24th January 2008

Health & safety issues in a Middlesbrough primary school force the Council to pay damages to an injured kitchen assistant

Accident in School

Poor health and safety in a Middlesbrough primary school has led to Middlesbrough Council being forced to pay damages to a kitchen assistant who badly injured her leg when she slipped in the dinner hall. Her case was fought by her trade union GMB and their personal injury specialists Thompsons.

Mrs Linda Williams worked as a kitchen assistant at Pallister Park Primary School in Middlesbrough, where she had worked for 18 years. On the day of the accident, she was walking through the dining hall to collect some pans when she slipped on the wet dining hall floor which had just been mopped following a child urinating on it. There was no warning cone or other method of warning Mrs Williams as to the presence of water on the floor.

Mrs Williams, aged 58, explains: “None of the dinner ladies had been trained in the cleaning up of spillages which is incredible given the majority of spillages happen in schools over the lunchtime period. They simply adopted their own system which unfortunately wasn’t enough to prevent my accident happening. As a result I suffered a knee injury and my employment with the council remains uncertain.”

Lack of Training Lead to Accident

Maureen Male, Convener for Middlesbrough Council on behalf of the GMB comments: “Middlesbrough Council fought this case to the very end so we’re very pleased to have secured justice for our member Mrs Williams.”

Representing Linda Williams, Diane Davison from Thompsons Solicitors in Middlesbrough comments: “This case highlights the lack of training by Middlesbrough Council of their lunch time staff which led to this regrettable accident. I echo the Trial Judge’s comments that this lack of training is “quite incredible” given that the vast majority of spillages occur in dining halls at lunch time. Hopefully Mrs Williams’ case will serve as a warning to other councils and employers to ensure that similar accidents do not occur in the future. The case has been adjourned pending assessment of damages”

School Accident Compensation Claim Advice

If you or someone you know has been injured whilst at school, telephone us now for accurate claim advice.

There are strict time limits in place to make any injury claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all personal injury matters. We will be able to advise you whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Thompsons Solicitors to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.